To be perfectly clear, one child’s death is too many. Not a single Second Amendment advocate disputes this, and the firearms industry constantly strives for genuine answers to this issue.
But the claim that guns are most responsible for childhood fatalities is patently and demonstrably false.
The basis for media members and political leaders asserting that guns surpassed motor vehicles as the leading cause of children’s deaths came from a recent University of Michigan study. This research quite misleadingly added adults to the equation, skewing the data and making the outcome incorrect.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) utilizes WISQARS, which is an online compilation of data covering fatal and non-fatal injuries. It collects information on public health and economic consequences from across the U.S. and makes it available in an interactive resource.
It plainly shows that the leading cause of death for children, defined as those age 17 and under, is automobile accidents.
However, those opposed to gun rights prefer to add adults to the equation, shifting the data with the inclusion of 18- and 19-year-olds. Predictably, the Michigan report included these adults in its findings, a sizable shift that inserted this sometimes-violent demographic into the ranks of children.
Many have refuted this false finding, including Snopes. The fact-checking service, which has verified or quelled everything from internet rumors to presidential claims for years, found the result to be based on a shift in research parameters.
For example, the anti-gun Kaiser Family Foundation used 2020 data from the CDC to determine that firearms were the leading cause of death for “children and teens” in the U.S. This finding included homicides, suicides, and accidents.
Their analysis showed gun-related violence killed 4,357 in the age group of 1-19. Motor vehicle accidents were responsible for 4,112 deaths.
The glaring issue is the data included 18- and 19-year-olds. If the range is for children, as previous data calculated, NBC News reported there were almost 2,400 deaths from vehicle accidents in 2020 compared to 2,270 deaths from firearms.
Again, in no way does any single person who supports Second Amendment rights excuse the tragedy that occurs every time a young person loses their life. But it is grossly misleading for the media and political leaders to trumpet false numbers to rile their base and promote an anti-gun agenda.
Outlets raced each other to spread this “finding.” NPR tweeted that “for decades auto accidents have been the leading cause of death among children, but in 2020 guns were the No. 1 cause, researchers say.”
Forbes acknowledged that accidents and injuries are the leading causes of fatalities for “children and young adults,” which is true. However, the next statement deletes the “young adults” category altogether. “But in recent years, gun-related injuries surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the most common cause of death in youths and children, and this number continues to increase each year.”
The change is subtle but misleading.
Statistics that are hand-selected to prove a point do as much or more damage than outright lies. They are repeated by political leaders and the media until accepted as fact, even when they are easily disproved. The White House made this false claim numerous times without being called out on it.
The firearms industry is working towards simple and effective solutions to gun safety that do not strip constitutional rights away from law-abiding citizens. Nothing is gained by piling more gun control measures on top of those already in place that do not enhance public security.
